What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is an AI agent feature in Anthropic's Claude Desktop app. It can read, edit, and create files in a designated folder on your computer—including PowerPoint files. It runs in a sandboxed virtual machine and handles multi-step workflows through natural language instructions.

How is Deckary different from Claude Cowork?

Deckary is a purpose-built PowerPoint add-in for consultants. It works inside PowerPoint with consulting-style AI slides, waterfall/Mekko/Gantt charts, 1000+ icons, and keyboard shortcuts. Claude Cowork is a general-purpose AI agent that can generate PPTX files among many other tasks, but lacks consulting-specific features.

How much does Claude cost compared to Deckary?

Claude Pro is $20/month ($240/year) but the PowerPoint add-in requires Max at $100-200/month ($1,200-2,400/year). Deckary Premium is $119/year with AI slides, charts, icons, and shortcuts included—roughly 1/10th the cost of Claude Max.

What is Claude Cowork?

Claude Cowork is an AI agent feature in Anthropic's Claude Desktop app. It can read, edit, and create files in a designated folder on your computer—including PowerPoint files. It runs in a sandboxed virtual machine and handles multi-step workflows through natural language instructions.

How is Deckary different from Claude Cowork?

Deckary is a purpose-built PowerPoint add-in for consultants. It works inside PowerPoint with consulting-style AI slides, waterfall/Mekko/Gantt charts, 1000+ icons, and keyboard shortcuts. Claude Cowork is a general-purpose AI agent that can generate PPTX files among many other tasks, but lacks consulting-specific features.

Does Claude have a PowerPoint add-in?

Yes. Anthropic launched a PowerPoint add-in in February 2026 as a research preview. It reads your existing slide masters and creates on-brand slides. However, it requires Max ($100-200/month), Team, or Enterprise plans—it's not available on Claude Pro ($20/month) or the free tier.

Can Claude create consulting charts?

No. Claude cannot create waterfall, Mekko/Marimekko, or Gantt charts. It can generate basic charts in presentations, but none of the specialized consulting chart types that firms like McKinsey, BCG, and Bain use daily. Deckary includes all of these with Excel linking.

How much does Claude cost compared to Deckary?

Claude Pro is $20/month ($240/year) but the PowerPoint add-in requires Max at $100-200/month ($1,200-2,400/year). Deckary Premium is $119/year with AI slides, charts, icons, and shortcuts included—roughly 1/10th the cost of Claude Max.

Does Claude burn through usage limits quickly?

Yes. Claude's token-based usage limits reset on a rolling 5-hour window. Agentic tasks like slide generation consume tokens significantly faster than regular chat. Multiple users report hitting caps within hours, even on Max plans at $100-200/month.

Can I use both Claude and Deckary?

Absolutely. Many users keep Claude for general AI reasoning, research, and writing tasks while using Deckary for daily PowerPoint work. They serve different purposes and don't conflict—Deckary handles slides, charts, and formatting while Claude handles broader AI tasks.

Is Claude's PowerPoint add-in stable?

Claude's PowerPoint add-in launched in February 2026 as a research preview. Anthropic explicitly labels it as a preview product, meaning it may have instability and is not recommended for mission-critical workflows without human review.

Purpose-built consulting slides for PowerPoint

Claude Cowork Alternative for PowerPoint Users

Name: Deckary
Rating: 4.8 (50 reviews)
Author: Deckary

Claude is a powerful general AI—but consulting slides need purpose-built tools. Deckary gives you MBB-style structure, charts, icons, and shortcuts inside PowerPoint.

TL;DR: Claude Cowork excels at general-purpose AI reasoning and multi-step workflows beyond presentations but no consulting charts, expensive for PowerPoint work, and generated slides need heavy formatting. Deckary offers purpose-built for consulting slides in PowerPoint with charts, icons, shortcuts, and MBB structure at 1/10th the cost. Choose Claude Cowork if you need a general AI assistant and only make occasional presentations. Choose Deckary if you build consulting-grade PowerPoint decks daily and need charts, icons, and shortcuts.

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Used by alumni of top tier firms

General AI vs purpose-built toolkit

Claude is a general-purpose AI that can make slides. Deckary is a consulting toolkit built for PowerPoint.

Claude approach

General-purpose AI agent
Generates PPTX files from chat or folder
PowerPoint add-in on $100+/mo plans only
No consulting charts or icons
Token usage burns fast on slide tasks

Deckary approach

Purpose-built for consulting slides
Works inside PowerPoint on all plans
Waterfall, Mekko, Gantt charts with Excel linking
1000+ icons, flags & visuals
Keyboard shortcuts for daily PowerPoint work

How Deckary compares to Claude

Both use AI—but Deckary is purpose-built for consulting slides in PowerPoint

Feature	Deckary	Claude
PowerPoint Features
Works inside PowerPoint		Add-in on Max+ only
Consulting-style slide structure		Generic structure
Consulting charts (waterfall, Mekko, Gantt)
Excel-linked charts
1000+ icons, flags & visuals
Keyboard shortcuts
AI text polish (consulting tone)		General rewrite
AI & Workflow
AI slide generation
General-purpose AI reasoning
Multi-step agentic workflows
Predictable usage limits	Unlimited slides	Token-based, burns fast
Pricing
Starting price	$49/yr	$240/yr
AI features included	$119/yr	$100+/mo for add-in
Free trial	14 days	No free tier

Why consultants choose Deckary over Claude

Claude is a brilliant AI—but consulting slides need purpose-built tools, not general intelligence

Built for consulting deliverables

Claude generates generic presentations. Deckary creates MBB-style slides following the Pyramid Principle with action titles and structured arguments.

Consulting charts included

Waterfall, Mekko, Gantt, and stacked bar charts with Excel linking. Claude cannot create these specialized chart types.

10x more affordable

Deckary Premium is $119/year. Claude's PowerPoint add-in requires Max at $1,200+/year. That's over 10x the cost for less PowerPoint functionality.

Native PowerPoint experience

Deckary runs inside PowerPoint on all plans. Claude's add-in is a research preview limited to Max, Team, and Enterprise subscribers.

Keyboard shortcuts

Align, distribute, swap, and select objects with keyboard shortcuts. Claude doesn't offer productivity shortcuts for PowerPoint.

Predictable, unlimited usage

Generate as many slides as you need. Claude's token-based limits burn fast on agentic tasks—users report hitting caps within hours.

The honest comparison

Claude is one of the most capable AI systems available. Its reasoning, writing, and multi-step agentic capabilities are genuinely impressive. Anthropic's Cowork feature turns Claude into a file-managing agent, and the new PowerPoint add-in can read your slide masters to create on-brand slides.

Where Claude wins: General-purpose AI reasoning. Multi-step agentic workflows beyond slides. Strong writing and analysis. The PowerPoint add-in can read existing templates and match brand guidelines. Broad enterprise plugin ecosystem for legal, finance, and sales tasks.

Where Deckary wins: Purpose-built for consulting slides in PowerPoint. MBB-style structure following the Pyramid Principle. Consulting charts (waterfall, Mekko, Gantt) with Excel linking. 1000+ professional icons and flags. Keyboard shortcuts for alignment and distribution. Available on all plans at $49-119/year—not locked behind $100+/month subscriptions.

The bottom line: If you need a general AI assistant that occasionally creates presentations, Claude does that alongside many other things. But if you build consulting-grade PowerPoint decks daily—and need charts, structure, icons, and shortcuts—Deckary is purpose-built for that workflow at a fraction of the cost.